BILL NUMBER: AB 1206	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   708
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 6, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 3, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 18, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 17, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 18, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 27, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 5, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Wesson

                        FEBRUARY 26, 1999

   An act to amend Sections 7026 and 7058 of, and to add Section
7058.1 to, the Business and Professions Code, relating to
contractors.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1206, Wesson.  Roadway construction contractors:  licensure.
   Existing law, the Contractors' State License Law, defines the term
contractor to be a person who undertakes certain specified types of
work.
   This bill would extend the definition of contractor to include
persons who engage in the preparation and removal of roadway
construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions.
It would define a specialty contractor to include persons performing
that work, and would require persons performing that work, on or
after January 1, 2001, to hold an appropriate specialty contracting
license.  The bill would state legislative intent with regard to the
performance of this work by licensed contractors who do not hold the
specialty license for performing that work, and would provide an
exemption from testing for this type of specialty license if the
person certifies under penalty of perjury that certain conditions
have been satisfied.  By expanding the scope of the existing crime of
perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 7026 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   7026.  "Contractor," for the purposes of this chapter, is
synonymous with "builder" and, within the meaning of this chapter, a
contractor is any person, who undertakes to or offers to undertake
to, or purports to have the capacity to undertake to, or submits a
bid to, or does himself or by or through others, construct, alter,
repair, add to, subtract from, improve, move, wreck or demolish any
building, highway, road, parking facility, railroad, excavation or
other structure, project, development or improvement, or to do any
part thereof, including the erection of scaffolding or other
structures or works in connection therewith, or the cleaning of
grounds or structures in connection therewith, or the preparation and
removal of roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or
traffic diversions, and whether or not the performance of work herein
described involves the addition to, or fabrication into, any
structure, project, development or improvement herein described of
any material or article of merchandise.  "Contractor" includes
subcontractor and specialty contractor.  "Roadway" includes, but is
not limited to, public or city streets, highways, or any public
conveyance.
  SEC. 2.  Section 7058 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   7058.  (a) A specialty contractor is a contractor whose operations
involve the performance of construction work requiring special skill
and whose principal contracting business involves the use of
specialized building trades or crafts.
   (b) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations
include the business of servicing or testing fire extinguishing
systems.
   (c) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations
are concerned with the installation and laying of carpets, linoleum,
and resilient floor covering.
   (d) A specialty contractor includes a contractor whose operations
are concerned with preparing or removing roadway construction zones,
lane closures, flagging, or traffic diversions on roadways,
including, but not limited to, public streets, highways, or any
public conveyance.
   On and after January 1, 2001, no person or entity shall set up or
remove roadway construction zones, lane closures, flagging, or
traffic diversions on any roadway unless that person or entity holds
the appropriate specialty license pursuant to this chapter.
  SEC. 3.  Section 7058.1 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
   7058.1.  (a) An individual or entity covered under subdivision (d)
of Section 7058 is exempt from testing for a specialty license with
regard to those operations if, by no later than March 31, 2000, the
individual or entity provides documentation and certification under
penalty of perjury that all of the following apply:
   (1) The individual or entity has been continuously engaged in the
business of traffic control for at least the prior 10 years.
   (2) The individual or entity has not been a party to a
construction litigation judgment totaling more than five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) or 5 percent of the annual value of work
performed, whichever is less.
   (3) The individual or entity has not had any conviction for a
serious or willful violation of the California Occupational Safety
and Health Act of 1973 (Part 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of
Division 5 of the Labor Code).
   (4) The individual or entity has not been convicted of a violation
of federal or state law, including, but not limited to, a violation
of provisions governing the payment of wages, benefits, or personal
income tax withholding, or provisions governing Federal Insurance
Contributions Act (FICA) withholding requirements, state disability
insurance withholding requirements, or unemployment insurance payment
requirements, during the last five years.  For the purposes of the
paragraph, only a conviction as an employer shall be deemed
applicable, unless it is shown that the individual or entity, in the
capacity of an employer, failed to comply with the conditions set
forth in subdivision (b) of Section 1775 of the Labor Code.
   (5) The individual or entity has not been convicted of submitting
a false or fraudulent claim to a public agency during the last five
years.
   (b) Any employer who is found to have falsified his or her
application for exemption from testing with respect to any
information required to be provided under this section may not
reapply for that exemption or apply for the required specialty
license for a period of two years.
   (c) Until the Contractors' State Licensing Board adopts an
examination for the classification specified in subdivision (d) of
Section 7058, any individual or entity that does not qualify for an
exemption from testing under subdivision (a) and is performing work
defined under subdivision (d) of Section 7058 shall be required to
apply for a license in order to continue performing that work until
an examination is available, at which time, that individual or entity
shall be subject to the examination requirement.
  SEC. 4.  In enacting this act, it is the intent of the Legislature
not to require any licensed contractor to obtain a new license for
the preparation and removal of roadway construction zones, lane
closures, or traffic diversions as long as that work is incidental to
the performance of work for which the contractor is licensed and the
Legislature expressly recognizes that any licensed contractor may
perform this work pursuant to Section 7059 of the Business and
Professions Code.
  SEC. 5.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
